Two-Party System

The United States has two main political par­ties – the Democratic and Republican parties. Many other smaller parties play little if any role.

Voters elect the President, as well as sen­ators, representatives, governor, etc. A voter can choose candidates from different parties (e.g., vote for Republicans for President and vice-president and a Democrat for senator), so the President does not have to be from the party that has a majority in Congress. In re­cent years, in fact, voters have tended to choose Republican presidents and Democratic congress people.

There are not clear differences between the Republican and Democratic parties. In general, the Republicans tend to be more conservative and to have more support among the upper classes, while the Democrats tend to be more liberal and to have more support among the working classes and the poor.

Comprehension questions

1. Have there been many changes in the Constitution since it was written?

2. What does “a federal system” mean?

3. How many branches of power are there and what are their functions?

4. What are the main political parties and how are the elections organized?

Unit 13 The State System of Russia. The Parliament of the Russian Federation

Before you read

Discuss these questions.

1 What is the meaning of the word combination “state system”?

2 What do we study state systems for?

3 Are state systems the same in different countries?

4 Can a state system of a particular country undergo changes?

Text a The State System of Russia

The Russian Federative Republic was set up by the Constitution of 1993.

Russia is a democratic federative law-governed state with a republican form of government. The population of Russia is about 144 million people and the territory is 6,6 million square miles. The Russian Federation consists of 84 constituent entities (republics, krays, oblasts, cities of federal significance, autonomous oblasts and autonomous okrugs, which have equal rights). The authorities of the constituent entities have the right to pass laws independently from the federal government. These laws are valid on the territory of the appropriate federate division, but they cannot contradict the federal laws. In case of conflicts between federal and local authorities, the President uses consensual procedures to resolve the problem. In the event a consensus is not reached, the dispute is transferred to the appropriate court for its resolution. The Russian President has the right to suspend acts passed by local executive authorities in case that these acts conflict with federal laws of Russia, its international commitments, or if they violate the human and civil rights and freedoms until the issue is resolved by appropriate court.

State power in Russia is carried out by dividing power into three independent branches: legislative, executive and judicial. Legislative power belongs to the Federal Assembly (the Parliament). Executive power belongs to the central and local governments. Judicial power is provided by appropriate judicial system and by civil administrative and criminal legislation.

The President is the head of the state and determines the basic objectives of the internal and external policy of the state. He is elected for four years on the basis of universal, equal and direct right to vote by secret ballot for all eligible citizens. One and the same person cannot serve as President for more than two terms in succession. The President stops performing his duties ahead of time if he resigns, because of impeachment, or if he cannot continue to carry out his duties due to poor health. Elections of a new President are to take place within three months and in the meantime his duties are acted upon by the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation.

The President appoints, with the consent of the State Duma, the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, chairs the meetings of the government, adopts the decisions on the resignation of the government. The President nominates to the State Duma a candidate for appointment to the post of the Chairman of the Central Bank, presents to the Federation Council candidates for the posts of the Constitutional and Supreme Court justices, Supreme Arbitrage Court justices, and a candidate for the post of Prosecutor General. The President forms and heads the Security Council. He is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and appoints and dismisses the supreme commanders of the Armed Forces. He appoints diplomatic representatives for approval by the Parliament. He confers supreme military and supreme special titles and honorary titles of the state. He has the right to show mercy and to decide on issues of citizenship. He has the right to introduce the state of emergency throughout the country or in a particular territory within the Russian Federation. The President has the right to dissolve the State Duma, to announce elections ahead of time and to pass the decision to conduct a referendum on federal issues.